Berlin, 3 November 2026 – Politicians and school authorities in several eastern German districts are currently wrestling with their school network plans. The trigger is a shrinking number of children starting school, putting pressure above all on smaller sites. New decisions and ongoing discussions, for example in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt show how local authorities are weighing up the preservation of nearby services against consolidating provision in larger centres.
According to the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office, the total number of pupils at general education schools was slightly higher in the 2025/2026 school year than in the previous year. At the same time, projections by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs and state statistics offices point to marked regional differences: while some western German states report stable or rising numbers, several eastern German states with large rural areas expect enrolment to fall over the medium term. These disparities explain why some local authorities consider local school sites no longer viable, despite the stable overall national picture.
In Thuringia, school authorities report falling enrolments at some primary schools and special education centres. District councils are negotiating mergers, longer class streams or temporary guarantees that sites will remain open. The District of Sonneberg has adopted its school network plan through to 2031 and says it intends, where possible, to keep smaller sites open for the time being. In Saxony-Anhalt, official statistics show a slight fall at general education schools in the current school year, adding to the pressure to consolidate provision.
Reasons cited include continued internal migration, competition between types of school and higher costs per pupil in very small classes, alongside demographic change. School authorities and state agencies also point to the shortage of teachers, which is harder to mitigate at smaller sites, particularly in special needs education and science subjects.
In the short term, the focus is on providing lessons, supervision hours and pupil transport. Over the medium term, attention is turning to investment in buildings, digital equipment and inclusive provision, which can often be delivered more efficiently at a small number of larger schools, but may also mean longer journeys. State laws set the framework: minimum numbers of class streams, accommodation requirements and deadlines require districts to make robust forecasts and weigh options transparently. Political promises to keep sites open “for the time being” ease local tensions but do not resolve the underlying structural causes.
Positions attributed to the various sides remain contentious. Parent representatives insist on nearby primary schools and short journeys, while local authority finance officers point to rising per-pupil costs and a backlog of investment. Experts stress that reliable demographic data, dependable state funding and clear quality criteria are essential to making viable decisions between keeping schools open and concentrating provision.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).